Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell was often pigeonholed--or wrongheadedly dismissed--as a "Dixieland" or "Chicago-style" clarinetist. What Russell (1906-1969) was, was the most determinedly (but never self-consciously) individualistic stylist on his instrument, whose oddly gritty tone, consistently surprising choice of notes, and river-deep feeling made his work a joy that could be shared by trad and modern jazz fans alike.

The two LPs paired herein, from 1958 and 1960, sprang from a period during which Russell began to gain overdue notice as a before-his-time modernist who'd been kept under wraps. Indeed, three years after making the exceptional LP Swingin' with Pee Wee he played a triumphant set with Thelonious Monk at the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival.

Here, Russell fronts two all-star groups, one of which features the future piano giant Tommy Flanagan. Typically, concessions are made to no style or fashion, save for timeless swinging.